


Up For Discussion

by blowmeharry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-08
Updated: 2013-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-24 04:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/630173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blowmeharry/pseuds/blowmeharry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Harry and Louis fight over a girl, falling for each other was the last thing on their minds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up For Discussion

“Please, Harry?”

Harry shook his head, reaching over to the coffee table to pick up the remote. He flipped the telly off and turns himself to face his best friend, annoyed.

“Why are you so shy about this? Honestly,” Louis complained with clear irritation. Then a smirk started to form on his face, the expression natural on the older boy. “It’s not gonna be like Caroline, is it?”

“No,” Harry shot back snappily. Louis should have known better than to bring that up. From what started as a publicity stunt sparked rumours that Harry was some womanizer, and that had changed his reputation to the “flirt” in the band, and even though Harry was good with the ladies, he didn’t appreciate that people only thought that of him.

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

Harry sighed, knowing he was moments away from giving in to the pleading look written on Louis’ face. Harry loved Louis, he really did. But sometimes he seemed to get carried away with things, and right now was the prime example. “Why do you want to know so badly?”

Louis let out an exasperated groan, throwing himself hastily off the couch. “Fine, don’t tell me.” He began to head into the hallway, ready to drown himself in the shower.

Then after a moment’s hesitation, Harry finally sighed and said, “Lily Halpern.”

Louis nearly tripped himself on his way back to the living room looking puzzled and actually a bit angry. “What?”

Harry frowned, crossing his arms. “What?”

“You like Lily Halpern?”

“Yes,” Harry nodded his head slowly, unsure why he needed to confirm himself when it was clear Louis had heard him the first time.

“Okay then…” Louis turned his attention back to the telly even though nothing was playing. He shuffled with his fingers in worry, and even though he didn’t say anything, Harry could sense that something was wrong. It wasn’t too often when Louis went into complete silence.

Harry moved to the edge of the couch, his head perking up to meet Louis’. “Is there a problem with that?” He honestly didn’t expect Louis to react that way.

“Yes,” Louis said right away, his blue eyes laminating that he was clearly upset. “I like her too.”

“I suppose now’s the time to call dibs, then?”

“That’s not fair,” Louis snapped at him, not very fond of the idea of ‘calling dibs’. “We’ve already gone out.”

“You went on a date with her?”

Louis nodded, leaning back on the sofa.

“Well, so have I,” Harry replied confidently, but even then, Louis saw right through him.

“That’s a lie. If you did, your faces would have made it on the cover of every magazine.”

The younger boy’s face hardened, the tone of his voice sharpening. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Louis knew that what he was saying upset Harry, but he couldn’t hurt him too badly considering he was only speaking the truth. “You and I both know you can’t date someone without the press knowing.”

“Oh, and you can?”

“I’m not the eye candy. People don’t care who I bang.”

Harry flushed, his cheeks turning a deep shade of pink. “We haven’t banged!”

“Whatever,” Louis shrugged. “We’ve gone out, I’m older… I doubt she wants to date some child. She’s not like Caroline, you know.”

Harry stood up from the couch, inching himself away from Louis, not wanting to say anything he might regret later. He was already pissed beyond relief, making matters worse would do nothing for him. His face was red with anger, and tears were threatening to form in his eyes. Harry didn’t want his best friend to see him this way, to know that his words had really affected him, and Harry knew his actions would further enhance them.

As he trudged his way to the bathroom, a string of words bounced in his head, continuously shouting at himselfI’m not a child I’m not a child, but the more he told himself otherwise, the more he started to believe it.

He threw his body onto the bathroom floor, leaning against the door to keep himself locked away from the outside world.

Moments later, he heard banging on the door followed by Louis shouting, “Let me in!”

“Leave me alone!”

“I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean it-”

“Go away!”

And then silence echoed in their flat.

~

Harry flipped over to his side, yawning as his eyes slowly opened to the brightness surrounding him. He was at peace for a few seconds, simply enjoying the sun that was hitting him from his window, until a familiar voice filled the room.

“I brought you breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry,” Harry denied the tray Louis was holding, but after a minute of internal struggle, he finally gave in and accepted the food.

Louis dropped himself next to Harry on the edge of the bed. He spoke in a soft voice, “I’m really sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have called you a child.”

Harry continued to pick at his biscuit, trying to use food as a distraction from Louis.

“And since we’re being honest, I lied about the date.”

Harry dropped his biscuit onto the tray, now fully interested in what Louis had to say. “Why?”

Louis didn’t know how to respond. He really didn’t know why he said it. Maybe he simply wanted to have a reason to prove to Harry that he should be the one to date Lily, though that was a bad move on his part since he ended up hurting Harry more than he expected to.

Instead of answering him, he pulled Harry into a hug, hoping an apology could be made. The hug was completely platonic, and Louis was one for being very affectionate, especially to those close to him. 

“Listen,” Louis spoke, deciding that this was for the best. “Let’s both just forget about her, yeah? A girl isn’t worth wrecking our friendship.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Harry agreed with a nod.

~

There was no way to tell when it happened or who caved in first, but somehow both boys ended up dating Lily, and she didn’t seem to have a problem with it. To be honest, she honestly didn’t have any feelings for either one of them. She could be classified as a publicity stunt, except for the fact that both relationships were kept private, especially from each other.

The boys both felt bad that they were going against their agreement, but they figured they were being sneaky enough that neither would be caught. It was successful for about two weeks. Louis would make excuses saying he was running to the supermarket to buy milk and when Harry would offer to come with, Louis would give him something else to do. It worked for some time, until Harry got tired of Louis avoiding him, and they ended up grocery shopping one time.

When they were interviewed on the Today show and the relationship questions came up, they had both lied and said they were single, but with Harry’s nervous stance and Louis’ way of trying to cover the truth with laughter, even the other boys could suspect that something was going on.

That same night, Louis ended up going back to their flat by himself. It wasn’t until about five in the morning that he was woken by the sound of a door being opened. Louis was a light sleeper, and the sudden noise had caused him to jump and peer into the hallway to see Harry heading to his room, suspiciously quiet.

Louis rubbed the sleep out of his eyes when he stepped into Harry’s room, walking in on him stripping his shirt off. He wasn’t going to lie, Harry had quite the body and most of the time, Louis wished he had it. Of course, there was nothing wrong with appreciating his looks.

“Where were you?” Louis inched closer to the younger boy, who was in the process of pulling a white t-shirt over his head.

“At a party.”

“I suspect you got laid?” Why else would he have come home at this time?

Harry moved away from the older boy to sit on his bed. He leaned against the pillows, trying to ease his headache away. He really did have too much to drink tonight.

“C’mon, what was her name?”

“Go away, Louis.”

“Oh, I get it. You don’t remember,” Louis stifled a laugh, moving to sit next to Harry on the bed. “Typical.” He spread his body further onto the bed, resting his head against Harry’s shoulder, leaning into him.

Harry flinched at the odd gesture, not used to Louis acting so affectionate with him. He murmured, “Tired.”

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a party tonight?”

“You tend to take them… er, too far.” Thinking back on Louis’ past hookups, the majority had taken place at parties when he was completely wasted. And Harry had to clean up after him. Even though going to a party was a lie, Harry really didn’t want a repeat of that in the future.

“Do you still like Lily?” Louis asked, catching Harry completely off guard. Louis was simply curious and wanted to reassure himself that what he was doing wasn’t so bad.

“No.” The words practically flew out of him before he knew what he was saying. Though now that he thought about it, there wasn’t really anything special about Lily. What they had derived from pure lust and hadn’t even gone anywhere. He supposed he could end whatever they had tomorrow. And then maybe he would stop feeling guilty about this whole thing.

Even though Harry’s answer was reassuring, Louis couldn’t help but feel worse about everything. They hadmade an agreement, and dating Lily was going against it completely, putting their friendship at stake. He didn’t even like Lily that much anyway. Louis decided he’d end it as soon as he could, before it went too far.

Louis’ eyes flew open and he was surprised to see that he had woken up in Harry’s room. When he recalled that he had unintentionally fallen asleep here, he also observed Harry’s arms around his waist, his head on his chest, his dark curls in clear view. Louis hadn’t noticed it before, but Harry had such fluffy hair, and suddenly he had the urge to touch it. He could confirm it really was as fluffy as it looked. When the realisation hit that he was still asleep in Harry’s arms, right away he pulled himself out of the bed carefully, despite how comfortable he had been.

He headed downstairs groggily and when he sat down on the couch, his stomach growled loudly, an indication that he was starving. Hesitant at first, he eventually made his way to the kitchen, where he grabbed a box of cereal and a carton of milk, deciding to eat simple, since he couldn’t exactly cook and didn’t feel like waiting for Harry to wake up.

After a somewhat satisfying breakfast, he sent Lily a text to meet up at a nearby park within the next hour. The guilt was eating him alive, and he was more than ready to end it.

Before doing so, he decided to stop at Starbucks and get coffee. He was much too lazy to make it himself at home, and frankly coffee wasn’t expensive. On his way to the park, he ended up having to sign some autographs. Louis personally didn’t mind seeing fans in public, but at a time like this, he was in a rush to get it all over with.

Harry had woken up shortly later, immediately pulling out his phone to call Lily. The sooner he ended this, the better.

“Hi, Harry.”

“Hey,” Harry spoke into the receiver, clearing his throat. “I, uh, need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.”

“Can we meet somewhere? Uh… where are you?”

“At the park. But listen I’m a little busy-”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Harry hung up before she even had a chance to respond. He didn’t realise how rude he’d acted until he stepped outside the flat. He shrugged it off, deciding he couldn’t possibly be that rude when he broke up with her.

On his way to the park, he sent Louis a quick text asking where he was. He hadn’t been in the flat this morning, and Harry was starting to get a bit concerned. Unfortunately, Harry didn’t get an answer.

When he reached the park, he passed by a group of teenagers playing basketball. He walked right past them and sat down on the nearest bench to catch his breath. It was clear to him then that he should have asked exactly where Lily was, not just a general location.

He sighed, flipping open his phone to check the time, and when he looked up from his phone, he could see Lily from the distance talking to some guy. He did a double take and then noticed that it wasn’t just some guy.

As he neared them, he could hear Louis mumbling some words to Lily. “…it’s just not going to work out…”

“Louis,” Harry breathed.

“Harry.” Louis’ heart skipped a couple of beats. “What are you doing here?” More importantly, how did he find him?

“I could ask you the same thing.”

An awkward silence settled in for what seemed like forever until Lily finally sighed and stepped in. “Look, you guys. I know why you’re both here. I’m really sorry for what I’m about to say, but I just want to clear things up. You have both been dating me for the past two weeks.” More silence. “Now please don’t blame each other. Blame me for letting this happen, okay?”

Harry and Louis both stood in silence, avoiding eye contact, refusing to believe that this had happened. That they both went against each other and had ruined their friendship.

Harry was the first to leave, feeling the most upset since it was Louis who had come up with the agreement in the first place. Louis didn’t bother stopping him as he walked away in the opposite direction, unsure of where to go. Harry went back to the flat and went straight for his bed, crawling inside the covers, wanting to stay and hide forever. Furious and still a little confused, he closed his eyes wanting to sleep and forget any of this ever happened.

Louis ended up staying the night at Liam’s, knowing Harry was probably back at home. And he sure as hell didn’t want to see him. He was upset that Harry had gone on and dated her, but he was more upset with himself for making the agreement in the first place. He should’ve known a girl could ruin a friendship, even one as strong as theirs.

He watched the telly for hours, eating and eating, trying to forget about his feelings. He wasn’t sure why he was upset in the first place. He didn’t even like Lily that much, and yet why did the idea of Lily and Harry bother him so much?

Liam had stopped by several times to question Louis’ odd behaviour, and Louis shrugged him off first claiming that there was nothing wrong and when Liam told him to stop kidding himself, Louis simply said he didn’t want to talk about it.

After about two days of ignorance and Liam getting tired of putting up with Louis, he finally got the balls to go back home, ready to face Harry. He could only imagine the mess Harry was in, probably crying since the younger boy could become very emotional.

He rang the doorbell reluctantly, then stepped back not wanting to look so eager. Even though he refused to admit it, Louis had missed Harry and this had been the longest they’d been away from each other since their band was formed. Maybe Louis was getting a bit attached to Harry, but even he could say that things just weren’t the same without him.

Louis tried to smile when the door suddenly opened, revealing a very tired Harry standing in the doorway. He was wearing nothing but boxers, and for some odd reason Louis couldn’t stop himself from staring at his open chest.

“Hi,” Louis finally said, then Harry began to close the door in his face, but Louis pushed his hand in the way. “Wait! I came to apologise. I’m really, really sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean to go against you and date her. I don’t even like her. That’s why we met at the park the other day. To break up.”

“I should be the one apologising,” Harry suddenly said, his answer causing Louis to turn his head in confusion. “I should have known better to keep my promise. It’s funny though.” He paused to look up at Louis, a smirk on his face. “I came to the park to end it too.” His smirk grew broader, his dimples now very visible. He was now very curious, hoping he wasn’t the only one to notice this. “Is there another reason why this bothered you so much? I mean, you said it yourself, you don’t even like her. Were you jealous?”

“Not really. I didn’t like her much either.”

“No. I mean…” he trailed off, letting his body lean against the door. “Were you possibly jealous of Lily?”

Louis opened his mouth to speak but found himself at a loss for words. His eyes were suddenly lost when he looked at Harry, trying to contemplate what Harry was suggesting. His heart stammered, and he didn’t have the time to question what was happening to him, when he felt warm lips cover his.

The kiss was mesmerising and above all, the best kiss he’d ever shared with anyone. He was in fact so into it that he forgot it was his best friend he was snogging, his male best friend. Before he got around to questioning it, he found his hand entailing Harry’s back, a soft moan escaping the younger boy’s lips. He moved his other hand to the dark curls, pulling on them carefully and flinched a bit when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, bringing him closer to Harry’s body, warmth rushing through Louis’ skin.

They pulled away from each other moments later, both breathless and sharing a look of endearment, all the while, surprised at what had just happened.

“Were you, Lou?”

Louis hadn’t even remembered what Harry was asking until his mind flashed back to minutes before the kiss. His face flushed and he tried to wipe the idiotic grin off his face. Suddenly everything was clear to him. Why he was so upset. Why he couldn’t see Lily with Harry. Why he seemed so possessive over the other boy.

He hadn’t planned on what he was going to say next and the words escaped him before he knew it.

“Yes, Harry. I was jealous.”

Harry’s grin radiated like sunshine and Louis melted into it like butter, losing his mind under his gaze.

“What about you? Were you jealous?”

Harry pulled Louis into a tight hug, his breath hitting Louis’ neck, causing him to shudder slightly. He smirked, a wide grin playing on his lips. “Consider that up for discussion.”


End file.
